Lazarus Caucus, in partnership with Baltimore County Department of Social Services, marked the opening of the Westside Homeless Shelter Clothing Closet with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, November 13, 2025. The closet, a re-purposed shipping container, will store new clothing and work-related apparel to be distributed to shelter guests to facilitate job-readiness. Lazarus Caucus was awarded an Envision Grant to fund the purchase, re-fit, and placement of the 8 x 20 storage unit that is now in place at the Westside Homeless Shelter on the Campus of Spring Grove.

The unit is climate-controlled, so clothing remains free of moisture, mold, and mildew. Lazarus volunteers will fulfill clothing requests made by shelter guests through the Community Assistance Network, which staffs the shelter. Requests will be limited to men’s new interview attire and appropriate outerwear. Clothing that is needed after a guest is hired will be purchased by the Lazarus organization based on specific sizes and job requirements. Specific needs may include steel-toe boots, high-visibility T-shirts, work pants, thermal socks, outerwear, coveralls, lunch coolers, gloves, etc.

“The contents of this unit will help men toward a fresh start. Just like shelter guests, this unit has experienced turbulence and extreme conditions. It now serves a new purpose. We look forward to seeing lives restored as men embark on a new direction.” Executive Director,” Andrea Ratajczak.

The Westside Homeless Shelter serves unsheltered men who are referred to the shelter by the Baltimore County Department of Social Services. The shelter’s capacity is 150 guests and is a 24/7, year-round shelter.

In its 20th year, Lazarus Caucus is a community organization made up of a small team of volunteers from area churches and organizations. Over the years Lazarus has provided thousands of bagged lunches, hundreds of holiday meals, celebrated hundreds of guest’s birthdays at the monthly Birthday Bashes, satisfied thousands of clothing requests, distributed thousands of public transportation tokens, coordinated job fairs for shelter guests, facilitated ID and Birth Certificate documentation and, volunteers in one on one meetings with shelter guests have had the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with men treating them with dignity and respect.